Petrificus Totalus
by KaliRaven2001
Summary: Ron and Hermione when Hermione wakes up from being Petrified in the Chamber of Secrets. Warning, pure fluff ahead.


Petrificus Totalus   
by Steph  
  
A/N This is just a bit of fluff I wrote one day between classes. It's all about what I think happened when Hermione woke up from being Petrified in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.   
  
  
"Come along," Ron Weasley said sharply. He glared at Professor Lockhart, who had a befuddled expression on his face.  
  
Professor Gilderoy Lockhart was currently distracted by one of the mirrors on the corridor wall. He grinned at his reflection, winking and tossing his mane of golden curls. "My, I am a handsome fellow, aren't I?" he asked Ron. "Am I a model?"  
  
The mirror gave a flirty giggle. "No dear, you're a professor," it told him.   
  
Lockhart looked disappointed. "A Professor? Me? Are you sure?"  
  
"Yes!" Ron said, yanking him away by the elbow before the mirror (obviously a fan) could start reciting all of Lockhart's books. Thankfully he managed to avoid any more mirrors on the way to the hospital wing, although several of the portraits followed Lockhart through the halls, giggling and blowing kisses at him.  
  
Madame Pomfrey threw open the door before he could even knock, her elated grin fading to a frown as she saw Ron. "Oh, it's you," she said, in a voice one might normally reserve for something one finds on the bottom of their shoe. "I thought it was Professor Sprout."  
  
She started to shut the door in his face, but Ron managed to wedges his foot in the doorway. "Wait! Madame Pomfrey! Professor Dumbledore sent us." She opened the door a bit wider to allow them in, sighing deeply when she saw Professor Lockhart. Not him again! He was more dangerous than all of the Slytherins and the Quidditch World Cup bludgers combined!  
  
Poppy Pomfrey shook her head. "What now?" she asked wearily. She half expected to find out there was a herd of dragons mauling their way through the building. After this year, she was seriously considering resigning from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for a nice quiet job at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies. If she didn't trust Professor Dumbledore so much, she would have left when this mess all started.  
  
"It's him," Ron said, dragging Lockhart back by the sleeve of his robes. "Memory Charm backfired. Hasn't the foggiest notion who he is or what he does."  
  
"Hmph," Madame Pomfrey muttered. "I say we ought to leave him that way." She motioned Ron and Lockhart past the waiting room into the infirmary. "I really don't have time for this. The Mandrakes are finally mature. Professor Sprout and Professor Snape are preparing them now." She pointed at a chair in the far corner. "Sit!" she ordered.  
  
Lockhart smiled winningly at her. "Mandrakes, you say? That's an awfully funny name." He glanced around the room. "Perhaps I can be of some assistance? The boy here tells me I'm a Professor."  
  
"SIT!" Madame Pomfrey yelled again, and Ron shoved Lockhart into the chair.  
  
The door swung open and Professor Sprout hurried in, carrying a large container full of frothy saffron coloured liquid. A pair of fluffy pink earmuffs dangled haphazardly from her neck, and there was a streak of dirt under her left eye. "Sorry it took so long Poppy," she apologized. She was breathing heavily, as if she had just run up several flights of stairs. "They kept trying to move into each others pots when I turned my back. And Sevarus wanted to make sure the potion was correct."  
  
She finally noticed Ron, whose ears had turned a bit pink hearing his teachers refer to each other so casually. "Oh, hello, Mr. Weasley."  
  
Ron stared wide-eyed at the container in her hands. "Is that for…" he began, then stopped. "Can I see Hermione? When she wakes up?"  
  
Madame Pomfrey and Professor Sprout both gave him such amused stares that he blushed. "I mean," he explained hastily, "She'll be upset. She figured it all out before us, and someone needs to tell her what happened."  
  
Madame Pomfrey shrugged. If someone else was keeping the Granger girl calm, it was less work for her. She would still have to calm the other victims down (waking up after being Petrified was a very unpleasant experience) and deal with that damn cat. Not to mention Lockhart, who was quite possibly worse with no memory than he was with one. "Fine," she said, before disappearing behind a curtain. "But keep an eye on Lockhart, would you?"  
  
Ron glared at Lockhart, who was attempting to fix his hair by curling it around his finger. "Stay," he told him threateningly.  
  
Lockhart slumped in his chair and nodded meekly.  
  
Madame Pomfrey motioned to Ron, who slipped behind the curtain. Hermione was still staring blankly ahead, but her body was less stiff. Ron hesitantly reached out and took her hand. He was worried. What if the potion didn't work? What if Hermione didn't wake up? Without her they never would have--  
  
Hermione blinked. "Ron?" she whispered. Her voice sounded scratchy and panicked.  
  
Suddenly she sat bolt upright, squeezing Ron's hand. "Ron!" she croaked. "Tell Harry! It's a basilisk! In the pipes, he's got to--"  
  
"Sshhh. We know." Ron handed her a glass of water from the bedside table. "It's over. Harry killed it. The Chamber of Secrets is sealed again."  
  
Hermione sipped the water, and slowly loosened her bone-crushing grip on Ron's hand. "But who?" she finally asked.  
  
"The same person as before," Ron said, feeling the blood start to flow back into his arm. "Tom Riddle. He used his diary to bewitch--" Ron shook his head. He still couldn't believe it. Not sweet little Ginny. Not his own sister. "To bewitch Ginny. Hermione, Tom Riddle is You-Know-Who."  
  
Hermione gasped, throwing her arms around Ron's neck. "Ginny? Oh no!"  
  
Ron's ears turned pink as he awkwardly patted Hermione's back. "She's okay. I--we were worried about you."  
  
Hermione finally released him, her eyes filling with tears. "Really?"  
  
Ron nodded, massaging his sore fingers. "Of course. Jeez, Hermione, with a grip like that you should be on the Quidditch team…as a beater!"  
  
Hermione gave him a small smile, then quickly leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I thought I'd never see you again," she whispered. Ron was still sitting there, stunned, when Madame Pomfrey showed up to escort him out of the infirmary so she could check on Hermione.  
  
"She kissed me," he whispered, leaning against the wall outside of the hospital wing. Boy, being Petrified sure did strange things to people! Not, he thought suddenly, that he minded very much. 


End file.
